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Émigré: French Refugees in the Early United States and the Music They Brought with Them shares through music the stories of those who fled from violence and social upheaval during the French and Haitian Revolutions. Featuring works by André Grétry, Ignace Pleyel, Michel Yost (known in his own time simply as Michel), and others, this program takes its inspiration directly from historic concerts performed by French émigrés, such as a 1793 benefit for an orphanage in Charleston, South Carolina and a 1798 performance featuring “the best musicians from Boston.” Wit’s Folly invites you on a musical journey of the Early American Republic as they seek to shed light on this all-but-unknown French chapter of America’s early musical history.

This program is free and open to the public with a suggested donation of $20.